


Thank the heavens that you stayed

by Miss_Romance_Lover



Category: Emmerdale, robron
Genre: 2018, Fluff, M/M, post-reunion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-01-10 03:53:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12290640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Romance_Lover/pseuds/Miss_Romance_Lover
Summary: A collection of stories set post-reunion, focusing on head-canons for next year. Title taken from 'Smoke & Mirrors' by Demi Lovato. Suggestions/prompts welcome.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You wouldn't know it from this first instalment, but I really do want to see Aaron do the proposing the second time around...but still, this happened anyway!

They’ve been back together nearly two months when Robert renders Aaron completely speechless. 

Having made the decision to reunite at Christmas, the phrase ‘take it slow’ had once again been uttered…and thereafter ignored when they both realised they didn’t want to spend another night apart. So Robert had moved back into Mill by New Year, and Aaron’s birthday was celebrated with the trip to Las Vegas that had been put off the previous year. 

It’s a year to the day that Robert had surprised him with a last-minute wedding, and Aaron has bought him an anniversary card. He doesn’t really know what to do with it, because he still isn’t wearing his ring and so are they still classing themselves as married? But still he signs and seals it and leaves it in his bedside drawer until it becomes clearer what they’re doing about this day. 

Robert is already downstairs organising their breakfast. Liv has gone to school and the two of them aren’t in a rush to get to work; no meetings or scrap runs to worry about today. Aaron finds him putting a plateful of toast on the table, along with the butter and two coffees. 

“Thanks,” he tells him with a smile. Robert grins back and sits down, picks up a knife and a slice of toast to butter, then stops.

“Oh, I forgot the jam. Can you grab it from the cupboard before you sit down?”

Aaron wanders into the kitchen, locates the strawberry jam and heads back to the table; and that’s when it happens.

Robert is down on bended knee…actually kneeling on the floor next to the table. In his hand is a ring. Well, *the* ring – Aaron recognises it instantly. 

“What you doing, you muppet?” he asks, even though it’s obvious. “Get up off the floor!”

Robert keeps a straight face, even as Aaron’s stunned reaction gives way to amusement. “Not yet. Need to ask you something first.”

“And I’m guessing the question isn’t ‘can you pass me the jam?’” the younger man mumbles, dumping the jar on the table and looking back at him.

“Do you know what today is?” Robert asks, voice soft.

“’Course I know,” Aaron replies.

Robert holds the ring between his thumb and forefinger and holds Aaron’s gaze. “A year ago today I made some vows to my best friend. And I meant every single word but I still managed to break them.”

“Yeah, and so did I,” Aaron points out.

“Shush,” Robert tells him. “Let me have my moment, will you? Never got to do this thing properly the first time round.”

“No way were you planning on getting down on one knee.”

“Well I’m doing it now, so what makes you think I wouldn’t have back then?”

“I’m just saying we’ve changed a lot since then. And you’re getting soppier in your old age. Speaking of which, are you even sure you’ll be able to stand up again after this?”

“Keep talking Aaron, and I’ll just hide your ring somewhere you won’t be able to find it,” Robert challenges, eyebrow raised.

“Er, you will not. I’m having that back, thanks very much!”

He can’t help but laugh. “Right, well there’s the spoiler alert for your answer; any chance you’ll let me get the question out now?”

Aaron is sheepish now. “Sorry.”

“Right,” Robert says again. “Aaron Dingle, you are the most argumentative pain in the arse--”

“Oh come on, I said I’m sorry!”

“No, this is part of the thing, I’m not just…”

“You’re including insults in your proposal speech?”

“Aaron, you’re kind of proving my point here. And I can’t feel my legs now so you’ll have to help me up.”

Aaron takes his hand and pulls him to his feet. Still holding the ring, Robert sits on the arm of the sofa, Aaron stopping still in front of him. He gives him a look that says he won’t interrupt again, and the older man takes a deep breath. 

“So as I was saying….you’re a pain in the arse,” Robert continues. Aaron rolls his eyes but a smile is already creeping onto his face. “But you’re also the most kind, funny, brave, beautiful person I’ve ever known. There’s nobody else I could ever be myself with; no-one else I’ve ever loved the way I love you…and no-one else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with. I want to be your husband, legally. Aaron, will you marry me?”

The younger man is too overcome to speak. He covers his face with one hand, breathes deeply. Closes his eyes then opens them again to see that Robert is still waiting; still holding up the ring for him. His ring. 

It’s really happening, then.

Aaron composes himself, looks into Robert’s patient, waiting gaze and smiles. “You know,” he tells him, and never before has he put as much weight into the words. 

And Robert doesn’t have to ask if that’s a yes because Aaron’s answer is written all over his face, so he puts the ring on his finger and pulls Aaron close. The first kiss is quick, making time to study each other’s faces close up when they pull apart. 

Aaron can count the freckles on Robert’s nose, something that had never come to mind to do before but right now he wants to. He drops another kiss to the space between the man’s cheek and his nose. It makes the corners of Robert’s mouth twitch upwards as he plays with the hairs at the back of Aaron’s neck. He reclaims his lips once more and the toast lies on the table unforgotten.


	2. Chapter 2

“A family dinner?” Robert says, eyebrows raised in confusion. “You want to invite everyone here for dinner?”

“Not everyone, Rob. Just close family.”

“You’re a Dingle, mate. Close family means about a hundred people.”

Aaron laughs. “Yeah, well I don’t mean literally all of them! Just the well-behaved ones.”

“That rules Liv out then, eh,” Robert jokes. Aaron gives him a nudge. “So who falls under that category then?”

“Well there’d be Mum – on a good day!” he replies. “Uncle Zak, Lisa. Vic and Adam, Diane, maybe Bernice? Oh, and Paddy.”

“Right. And what’s it all in aid of?”

Aaron smiles softly at him. “Because we’ve never had them all over before, and we’re getting married next week. I just thought it’d be nice.”

“Look at you, getting all domesticated. What are you gonna cook then?”

At the way Aaron’s face drops, his eyes going wide, Robert grins. “Relax, I’ll do the cooking. You can entertain.”

“Entertain, how?” Aaron’s face has scrunched up. “I suppose I could just let Uncle Zak loose on the virtual reality thing again. Gave us all a good laugh last time.”

Robert smirks at the memory. Then he wanders into the kitchen to look inside the fridge and food cupboards. “We’ll have to go shopping if you want to do it tomorrow.”

“What, as in right now?”

“Might as well. Come on, you can drive.”

Aaron is smiling again as he finds his car keys. “You already know what you’re making for dinner, don’t you?” He gives his husband-to-be a knowing look.

“Maybe,” Robert says with a wink. “You want a special dinner, I’ll give you a special dinner.”

“Did I use the word special?”

“It’s the way you were selling it to me,” he teases. 

Aaron follows him out the front door, happy with how it’s all coming together. In fact, ‘special’ is exactly what he’s planning tomorrow to be.

*

Everyone’s here, except for Vic and Diane whose official excuse for lateness is that they’ve been held up on the way back from town. Robert is so busy in the kitchen that he hasn’t had time to wonder what could be keeping the pair of them out so late in the day. 

Liv has been on hand to help with the ‘entertaining’. They’re all laughing away watching an energised Zac attempting to play Aaron’s VR game, the headset still looking ridiculous on the older man. She’s calling out instructions to him, while Adam has been sorting everyone out with drinks.

Aaron floats in and out of the kitchen – when venturing into the lounge he’s only there long enough to check his phone, needing Robert to remain unaware. When in the kitchen he’s following Robert’s lead as he cooks – at one point he’s washing up while the older man checks the contents of the oven. 

“Smells amazing, by the way,” Aaron tells him, slinging the tea towel over his shoulder. “Thanks for going along with this, I know it was all my idea and you’ve ended up doing all the work.”

“Yeah, well, it’s ‘cos I love you isn’t it,” Robert’s eyes are soft. He closes the oven again; readjusts the heat of the pans on the cooker, then crosses over to the sink to give Aaron a quick kiss.

“Love you too. And I have a question.”

Robert has already returned to his task, and doesn’t look up. “Yes, Aaron, I have made extra so you can have seconds.”

“That wasn’t the question. But thanks. Although should I be offended that you’ve assumed I’m always gonna be that greedy?”

The truth is, Aaron had been relying on this so that Robert did indeed make extra.

“No. Maybe I’m trying to fatten you up, ever thought of that? All those muscles you’ve built up in the gym, and I’ve got none. Starting to feel inferior, aren’t I.”

Aaron rolls his eyes. “As if. With your ego! Anyway, you don’t need muscles. You’ve got the sexy chef thing going on right now…”

“Oh yeah?” Robert’s face is flushed, but if anyone asks when they sit down to eat, the reason will be the heat of the kitchen rather than the effect Aaron has on him. 

“Mmm,” Aaron nods. “Which brings me to my question.”

“What question?”

“The one I was going to ask before you distracted me with my eating habits.”

“Right. What was that, then?”

“How come you didn’t make a career out of cooking? You’d have been brilliant.”

“You think so?” Robert doesn’t look convinced, but he can see the sincerity in Aaron’s eyes and it makes him beam. “I might have carried on with it, I guess, if my dad wasn’t the way he was. I didn’t want to be a farmer like he wanted, so I always felt like I had to prove myself with the businessman thing.”

Aaron is thoughtful. “But you’re done trying to prove yourself, yeah? You don’t need to, for anybody.”

“Yeah, I know. I reckon my mum would have liked it, if I’d been a chef. And my gran always liked the idea.”

“Your dad’s mum?”

“Annie, yeah. I should…I should call her, actually. It’s been a while since I’ve spoken to her.” Robert is lost in his thoughts for a minute, but snaps out of it to check on the food again. “Aaron, can you tell everyone the food will be ready in about five minutes? Although at this rate I’ll have to keep Vic and Diane’s warm in the oven, they’re cutting it fine.”

When Aaron had rounded their family up to sit at the table, he heard his phone vibrating in his pocket. It was Victoria, saying they were a few minutes away. He shared a look with Adam, who grinned back knowingly.

He headed back into the kitchen to help Robert plate up. “Your sister’s just text me, they’re nearly here,” he told him. “And we’ll need another plate as well.” He says it casually, so as not to hint at anything interesting.

“Oh don’t tell me, Doug’s coming now too? Thought he was on restaurant duty at the B&B.”

Aaron merely shrugs at him. Almost all the food is on the table when the doorbell goes. “I’ll bring the rest of this through, you go and get the door,” he tells Robert, who thinks nothing of it and nods.

Striding over to the front door, Robert opens it and the first person he sees isn’t his stepmum or his sister. It’s not even Doug. 

“Gran,” he breathes out in stunned disbelief. He can’t quite move with the shock of it, so Annie brings him into a tight hug as Victoria and Diane pile in behind her.

“Robert, my boy,” she’s saying fondly. “Let me look at you,” and she’s pulling away and giving him the once over. “Always troubled, was this lad,” Annie’s telling the room. “You’re not any more though, are you? No, I can see that.”

“Can’t believe you’re here,” Robert says, finally shutting the door. “How are you…sorry, come and sit down first. Come and meet Aaron.” He leads her to the table, where the rest of their family greet her warmly – most of them having known her years, of course. Introductions are made with Adam and Liv, too. Then Robert pulls out a chair so she can sit in the middle of Aaron and himself. “And Gran, this is him,” he announces, full of pride. “My Aaron.”

“Hello love,” Annie’s eyes are twinkling, and Aaron smiles at her, smiles at the whole reunion. Robert is all lit up and it’s a beautiful sight.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” he tells her.

“I’ve been looking forward to it since our little chat in the phone,” she replies. Robert looks past her towards Aaron, completely baffled.

Before Aaron can say a word, Vic cuts in. “All down to Aaron, this is,” she explains. “Gran rang here for you the other day, only you were at work so he picked up.”

“I was calling to say I’d be at the wedding,” Annie takes up the story. “Go on then you lot, tuck into your dinner! Don’t let me stop anyone – we’d have been here earlier if it weren’t for that traffic.” Zak is the first one to pick up his knife and fork, and everyone else follows suit except a still stunned Robert. His grandmother starts on her own meal as she continues explaining.

“So Aaron answered and we had a nice little talk, and he suggested I fly over earlier as a surprise. Looks like it’s worked a treat, eh? Come on then lad, eat up or it’ll be getting cold.”

Robert feels like a youngster again, but without all the angst and upset of his parents’ issues. Instead, his gran’s words take him back to the time he spent living with her as a teenager. Days where she would have his dinner waiting for him, where she’d listen to him and look after him. Days he knew he had taken for granted. Now, he smiles at her and starts to eat, but not before mouthing “thank you” to the man who he’ll soon make his husband.

There are a lot of appreciative murmurs as everybody eats. Robert had cooked roast pork and it’s mouth-wateringly good. “I always said you should be a chef,” Annie tells him. 

“What did I tell you,” Aaron winks at him. Victoria jokes that Robert should try a few shifts with Marlon at the pub, if only to give her a break from him. He recoils in fake horror, at which the entire table laughs – bar Paddy who feels obligated to feign outrage on his friend’s behalf.

Robert stands up to organise pudding, but Aaron makes him sit back down. “I’ll sort it. You stay here.” So he does as he is told and turns to talk to his gran.

“Do you have somewhere to stay yet?” he asks.

“Oh yes, Diane’s already set up a room for me at the B&B. Now, you tell me all about this wedding.”

“It’s nothing too big, Gran. We don’t need anything big. Just the registry office, and all of you, our friends and family.”

Annie studies her grandson’s face as he watches Aaron return from the kitchen with a chocolate cheesecake – shop-bought; Robert couldn’t compete with Victoria when it came to baking – and a stack of plates. Robert’s eyes are following his around the room, and Aaron meets his eye and grins. Annie sees all this and she feels content in the knowledge that the little lost boy she remembers has finally found his way in the world.

Later, when all their guests have gone home and Robert is curled up in bed with Aaron, he presses kisses to his temple, into his hair, behind an ear. Aaron shivers, ticklish there. “Thank you for today. For Gran.” 

“It was Vic and Diane that did the long drive to the airport. You liked your surprise then?”

“I loved my surprise. And I love you.”

Aaron opens his mouth to say it back, but Robert catches his lips in a heated kiss and the words can wait until later.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set before the reunion we're all waiting for.

It's Christmas Day, and after a weird and dramatic day Aaron and Robert are sat inside the barn - their barn - doing nothing but talking.

Robert has been telling him about Christmases with his mother; and for the last half an hour Aaron has been listening, transfixed. He's never heard Robert speak so warmly about his family before.

"Sorry," the older man says now. "I've been going on a bit, haven't I."

"No, I liked it. It's good to hear about your mum. You've never...you don't talk about her much. I stopped asking because you always used to shut down if my questions were too personal."

Robert is looking at him sadly. "I'm sorry. It's just everything with Andy, him causing mum's death; it made it too hard to talk about her. Going down to her grave on her birthday and the anniversary was the best I could manage."

"You don't have to explain, Robert," Aaron gives him a gentle nudge. "I get it. I spent my whole life avoiding all the big stuff. You were the first person that made me feel like I could talk about it. If I can be the same for you, then, well. You know."

Reaching for Aaron's hand and giving it a quick squeeze, Robert smiles gently at him. "Yeah," he says quietly. "I know."

The moment is broken by a text on Aaron's phone. When he checks it his face changes. He looks sheepish, for more than one reason. "Shit."

"What's up?"

Aaron looks at him; hesitates a few extra seconds. "I don't really want to tell you."

"Aaron? Come on. We've kind of got a bubble of honesty going on here, let's not break it."

He sighs, squeezes his eyes shut in that way he does before something awkward. "A mate asked if he could give this bloke my number. That was him asking me out." He watches Robert's face and doesn't miss the way it instantly drops.

"On Christmas Day? Looks like someone's eager."

Aaron says nothing, reading the message again before typing out and sending a reply. "Told him I'll meet him in ten minutes," he says without looking up.

"What?" Now Robert looks horrified. Aaron feels a bit mean but can't help laughing.

"I'm joking you muppet! I've said 'sorry but my situation's changed' and I'm not interested. I'll probably get a narky text back in a minute but I can't say it'll bother me."

Suddenly Robert gets to his knees, shuffles so he's facing the younger man. "Your situation's changed?" he asks tentatively.

"Well, in my head it has, after today. I don't want to move on, Robert. Not from you."

And then Aaron looks at him, sees everything he needs to know written all over the man's face and doesn't wait for the words before closing the gap between them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron whisks Robert away for some quiet time together after their wedding ceremony.

“Come on, we can be a bit late for the reception. I want to show you something.”

Robert looks at Aaron in surprise. “Yeah? Where we going?”

“I’ll explain when we get there,” Aaron’s leading him to the car, and they get in. he starts the engine and drives in a direction unfamiliar to Robert. 

“Not taking me home to consummate our marriage yet, then,” the older man says with a smirk. Aaron laughs.

“Plenty of time for that later, Mr Dingle,” he winks, only taking an eye off the road for the half a second it takes to do so. 

“I’ll hold you to that, Mr Sugden.”

Aaron’s smile is beautiful to Robert in that moment. He decides he could happily call him by that name for the rest of their lives if it means seeing that look on the man’s face over and over again.

Robert realises he hasn’t been paying attention to their surroundings; Aaron is parking up already. They’re at a beach. “Come on,” his husband says, getting out of the car.

They start walking along near the edge of the water, and Aaron takes his hand. Robert runs his thumb across Aaron’s fingers, feels his wedding ring back where it belongs.

"I came here with mum once, when I was little,“ Aaron says in a quiet voice. "I was about seven, so it was before…well,” he trails off, unwilling to let that thought intrude on the day. It doesn’t need to anyway, Robert knows what he means. He always knows. “Before. And for a long time, that was the best day, that day - just me and her. Until our first wedding day. And now today.”

Robert doesn’t know what to say, but he can tell that Aaron isn’t finished yet anyway, so he just gives his hand a squeeze and waits.

“Marrying you today, Robert…that was the best feeling in the world. You spend a lot of time telling me how you feel and I haven’t done enough of that, so I wanted to have a bit of time now, just us so I could make sure you know how I feel.”

“I do know,” Robert assures him, fighting back a wave of emotion. “And what about all the stuff you said in your vows earlier? Aaron, that was perfect and a lot more than I deserve.”

“Yeah, well I had more to say,” Aaron tells him. “You know I never thought I’d ever have anything like this?”

Robert is nodding; he remembers Aaron’s words from the first time they took each other as husbands. 

“Paddy tried to tell me about love once. I was eighteen and I was convinced that being gay meant being unhappy for the rest of my life. He said didn’t I want to know what it would be like, ‘to love someone so much that you feel like you might die’. I didn’t really understand what he meant until you. I think maybe that’s one of the reasons I was such a mess when we first got together properly. Loving you was…overwhelming, it still is sometimes but I’d still choose that over anything and anyone else.”

Aaron finishes speaking and finds that Robert is too stunned to reply. So he reaches up, runs a hand through his husband’s hair and kisses him. To this he responds instantly. 

Later on, Robert will find the words; because even though Aaron already knows, he will never get tired of telling him how much he loves him. But for now there’s no hurry. So he wraps his arms around the man’s waist, breaks the kiss for just long enough to look at him and then brush their noses together, savouring the moment. And then he’s kissing him again, and seconds later it starts raining but if either of them notice they can’t bring themselves to care.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written before the reunion aired, but based on the spoilers we had. What we actually watched was incredible and a million times better than I imagined!

"Yesterday our anniversary meant nothing to you, you can't start saying things now," Robert bit out. Then he turned back around, continuing his walk down the street, further away from the club. Further away from Aaron

He followed him, calling out to him, determined not to let him get too far out of reach. "That's not--I said it didn't matter but I was lying, Robert. I was lying through my teeth. And if you really think it meant nothing to me, then I guess nothing I say can convince you. But maybe this will."

Aaron caught up to him, standing in front of the man so he was blocking his way. He held up his phone, waiting for as long as it took for Robert to give in and take it from him. "What is this ab--?"

Robert had finally looked at the screen, and the end of his sentence caught in his throat. On Aaron's phone was his most-played music, and the top song listed was the most un-Aaron song in the world.

And yet it would always fill his head with the best of memories with him. Swaying together in the pub; arms around each other, as though nothing could break them just for those few minutes.

He looked at the words on the screen, and then he looked at Aaron, who he now realised had tears trailing down his cheeks. And in the next second, he returned his gaze to the phone and pressed play. 

When the rain is blowing in your face

And the whole world is on your case

I could offer you a warm embrace

To make you feel my love

Aaron was wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his coat - because some things would never change - and Robert felt tears of his own coming to the surface. "You've been listening to our song?"

Nodding, Aaron took a step closer to him. "And I used to hate it before that day."

Robert let out half a chuckle at that, before sighing in frustration and shoving the man's phone back in his direction. "Why are you messing with my head?"

"I'm not trying to," Aaron replied, turning the music off quickly. 

"So what are you trying to do?"

"To tell you that I love you!" he blurted out. Loudly. And when he spotted a bloke staring as he passed by on the other side of the road, he couldn't have cared less. "I get that it's hard to believe me when I keep going cold on you but that's something I've been doing my whole life. And I'm sorry, because you're the one person that I don't want to be like that with."

Robert kept his eyes on the man in front of him. "So then why were you--?"

"Because...I'm Aaron. I'm a nightmare. I wanted to tell you all this after you left on Valentine's day, but when I called I just couldn't get the words out. Then I was going to tell you the next day, and then Alex turned up in a bad way. I didn't want to be the guy who dumps someone at the worst possible moment. I thought I should just try and make it work with him but I can't. I don't want to, so I ended it with him anyway. And he knows it's all about you."

Aaron let out a shaky breath. Robert's mouth had dropped open somewhere between Aaron's confession about that phone call, and his reasoning for choosing Alex. But he didn't speak.

"If I'm too late, then I'll just have to deal with it," Aaron continued. "But I don't want to risk saying nothing and spend the rest of my life regretting it, wondering what you would have said. Robert, I love you. I haven't stopped loving you. I want you for the rest of my life."

Those last few words seemed to bring Robert to life. "The rest of...Aaron, what about Seb?"

"What d'you mean, what about Seb? I want both of you."

"You do?" Robert asked in disbelief.

Aaron smiled. "Yes."

"I...I don't know what to--"

"I mean it, Rob." He reached out to cup the older man's cheek. "For the rest of my life. If you still love me?"

"What kind of a question is that? Of course I still love you." Leaning in, Robert took Aaron into his arms and kissed him. Aaron settled into his embrace instantly, his hands running through the man's hair.

It was the rain that stopped them in their tracks, but only for a fleeting second as they looked at each other, giddy grins on their faces. And then Aaron pulled Robert back in for another kiss, weather be damned.


End file.
